Emarat and Crypto.com Unveil MENA’s First Crypto-Powered Petrol Stations

At the heart of this rollout is the newly unveiled Emarat x Crypto.com Service Station on Al Wasl Road in Dubai. This site is the centerpiece of Emarat’s pioneering Project Landmark initiative, a campaign aimed at transforming fuel stations into branded, multi-service destinations by offering naming rights and co-branded integrations with leading global partners.

The Al Wasl Road station will serve as the flagship of this initiative and a live testbed for the broader digital integration strategy. Under Project Landmark, Emarat is reimagining petrol stations as immersive, high-tech experiences that combine fueling, payments, retail, and digital engagement, all under one roof.

Mohammed Al Hakim, President of Crypto.com’s UAE operations, emphasized the company’s vision of making cryptocurrency usable in daily life. “In the next two years, people in the UAE should be able to use cryptocurrency for everyday transactions,” he said, underscoring the country’s rapidly growing crypto-friendly environment.

The move is in line with the UAE’s larger ambition to become a global hub for digital finance. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and the federal government's progressive stance on blockchain technology have created fertile ground for innovation. The UAE was one of the first jurisdictions globally to establish a dedicated regulatory body for virtual assets and continues to attract top blockchain firms and fintech players seeking regulatory clarity and market access.

Crypto.com, headquartered in Singapore with a major presence in the UAE, has been expanding aggressively in the region since receiving its VARA license. The partnership with Emarat signals a key strategic play, moving beyond crypto trading and wallets into utility-driven applications that serve mass-market consumers.

Through Project Landmark, Emarat is also offering other brands the opportunity to acquire naming rights and integrate services directly into service stations. The initiative is expected to unlock new revenue streams while enhancing brand visibility and customer interaction in one of the region’s most high-traffic real estate environments.

The integration of crypto payments into petrol stations is emblematic of the UAE’s broader push toward Web3 adoption. From blockchain-based land registries and tokenized real estate platforms in Dubai to Abu Dhabi’s AI and crypto sandbox environments, the Emirates are rapidly positioning themselves as a testbed for digital financial infrastructure.

Earlier this year, UAE officials reaffirmed their commitment to leading in virtual asset regulation and innovation. At the 2024 World Economic Forum, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Omar Sultan Al Olama, highlighted the UAE’s proactive approach to emerging technologies and called for global cooperation to ensure responsible digital development.

The Emarat x Crypto.com initiative is expected to catalyze further public-private partnerships across sectors such as transport, logistics, and real estate. Analysts say it also sends a strong message to international players that the UAE is not just open to blockchain experimentation, it is implementing real-world use cases at scale.

With the successful rollout of this pilot program, consumers in Dubai can now experience firsthand the practicality of cryptocurrency in daily transactions. The integration also sets a precedent for other fuel retailers and service providers across the region to explore digital payment solutions as part of their modernization strategies.

Both Emarat and Crypto.com have confirmed that they will monitor the performance of the initial 10 locations before scaling the service across the full network. If consumer adoption follows projections, UAE residents could soon be fueling their cars with Bitcoin, Ethereum, or stablecoins as easily as using a credit card.

As the crypto economy continues to intersect with real-world infrastructure, this collaboration stands as a powerful symbol of progress, demonstrating that the digital finance revolution isn’t just coming to the Gulf, it’s already here.